The prior art is already aware of various arrangements of track joints for crawler tractors, and those joints include thrust rings and seal rings. The purpose is to have a sturdy joint which is sealed against the entry of dirt and the like so that the joint can remain clean and functional with only a minimum of friction and wear. Examples of the prior art utilizing a rigid ring and an elastomer seal member or the like are found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,911,840 and 3,110,097 and 3,554,560 and 3,595,572 and 3,622,165 and 3,680,924 and 3,975,028. Also, my own U.S. Pat. No. 4,076,333 shows the use of a metal ring and an elastomer seal member, and my U.S. Pat. No. 3,948,574 shows the use of an elastomer member only in a track joint, and the same is true of a U.S. Pat. No. 3,909,076.
In the prior art, there is no known instance of a track joint which has a thrust ring and a seal ring secured thereto, and with two rings extending in axial abuttment between two annular surfaces presented by the track joint itself. Thus, in that instance, the thrust ring maintains the annular surfaces spaced apart, and the seal ring is effective between those annular surfaces to preclude the entry of foreign material, such as dirt and dust, and thus the joint is stable and secure and it is also kept clean. Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a track joint with the aforementioned characteristics and to do so with a simplified thrust ring and seal ring arrangement.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a track joint with a seal member used in conjunction with a thrust ring, wherein the seal member precludes entry of dirt and dust and the like in the space between the links and parts of the track chain and wherein the seal member is self-positioning and adjustable for efficient and constant sealing action. Further, the aforementioned seal member is self-adjusting for wear between the parts and for wear of the seal member itself so that it continuously remains effective. Further, no special arrangement of the track chain parts is required in order to accommodate the seal member and the thrust ring of this invention.
Other objects and advantages will become apparent upon reading the following description in light of the accompanying drawings.